Collecting the World: Six North American Photographers
SEP.11.2008 ──────── JAN.04.2009
![Collecting the World: Six North American Photographers The city of New York through the lens of six artists](/media/arte-cultura/exposiciones/historico-exposiciones/2008/coleccionar-mundo-1194x.jpg)
Garry Winogrand
Central Park Zoo, New York City, 1967
© The Estate of Garry Winogrand. Courtesy of the Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
The Exhibition
Susan Sontag claimed that “collecting photographs is collecting the world”. Picking up on this idea, the exhibition aimed to reflect the growing importance that Fundación MAPFRE was attaching to its photography collections, which by 2008 already held more than 150 works by creators in this artistic discipline.
Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan, Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, Helen Levitt and Garry Winogrand were the protagonists of this exhibition, the aim of which was to showcase their perspectives of the reality of the city of New York during the first half of the twentieth century.
A tour of the exhibition related the history of this great city and the people who live in it. From the documentary images of Evans through to Diane Arbus’ provocative shots, the works on display offered a unique vision of the Big Apple through the lenses of six great and acclaimed masters of photography.
The exhibition started with the images of Walter Evans: direct, austere and with an original take on the city’s spaces and residents in everyday scenes. Garry Winogrand, with his “Fifteen Photographs” series, offered a tour of the streets and public spaces, reflecting the American dream. The human landscapes of Harry Callahan provided a minimalist testimony of reality, while the post-documentary photographer Lee Friedlander portrayed the soul of America through its people and monuments. Meanwhile, Helen Levitt showcased the city through its everyday life, and Diane Arbus’ portraits revealed its inhabitants.
![Consuelo Kanaga Tennessee, 1950](/media/arte-cultura/exposiciones/consuelo-kanaga-768x644-2.jpg)
![David Goldblatt The dethroning of Cecil John Rhodes, after the throwing of human feces on the statue and the agreement of the university to the demands of students for its removal, the University of Cape Town, 9 April 2015](/media/arte-cultura/exposiciones/goldblatt-768x513-1.jpg)
![Louis Stettner Brooklyn Promenade, Brooklyn, 1954](/media/arte-cultura/exposiciones/stettner-768x513-1.jpg)
![Paz Errázuriz Evelyn I, Santiago, from the series Adam’s apple, 1987](/media/arte-cultura/exposiciones/paz-errazuriz-768x517-1.jpg)